“Insurance is a people business.” When I embarked on my first foray into the London market, this was the message imparted with such sincerity and frequency that it is firmly ingrained in my mind to this day. One and all the deliverers of this message were absolutely right – insurance is very firmly a people business, and long may that continue.
Few individuals exemplified that quite as well as Chris Davies (pictured below), a colleague and friend to all of us that worked at Insurance Business. On a professional front, Chris was everything you could ask for in a colleague – talented, friendly, and unfailingly good-natured. And I know I can speak for everybody in the IB office when I say to know Chris was to like him, and to know him well was to consider yourself incredibly fortunate.
There must be some magic in the water of the insurance profession that it draws in so many people across so many different functions who bring their whole selves to their working lives. From my time working within the insurance market, I have had the pleasure of speaking with so many interesting people whose passions are not in addition to their day job but rather intertwined within it. From setting landspeed records to taking on an Ironman Triathlon, they don’t just find time for the things they love to do, they make them part of the way they live.
Chris was among those individuals lucky enough to be extraordinarily talented at the thing he loved to do most – to write. He was an exceptional contributor across multiple Key Media verticals including Insurance Business, and always brought a unique blend of sensitivity and enthusiasm to his features. It is little wonder given how invested and indeed fascinated he was by the power of the individual, and his conviction that everybody has an interesting story to tell.
During the course of our friendship, I had the delight of reading the three novels Chris penned and of (sometimes somewhat heatedly) discussing these with him at great lengths. Our conversations would run the gamut of everything from theology, to historical accuracy, to the merits of the latter seasons of Red Dwarf compared to their earlier counterparts. I relished them all.
Throughout our conversations, I caught a glimpse of the incredible variety Chris enjoyed throughout his career. He wrote several television programmes for companies including the BBC, Channel 4, ITV and Sky, and was co-writer and co-creator of Radio 4’s Lobby Land. I was not surprised however, you’d need that depth and breadth of variety to create the assortment of colourful and strikingly human characters that characterise his fictional works.
Before Chris passed away, he was delighted to have the publishing house Bloodhound Books sign him up as an author, and his family have since agreed to allow it to proceed with the publication of his debut novel, a historical thriller, which will be published in November 2022. Having had a sneak preview of the book, I can only tell you what I WhatsApped Chris when I first read the novel, “Dan Brown, eat your heart out”.
I know everybody who knew or worked with Chris will be feeling the same as me this week – shocked and more than a little bereft by the passing away of a man who was not just a brilliant colleague and a beloved son, but also a generous, open-hearted friend. But as with so many of my conversations with Chris, I come away from this recollection of his life and work armed with the conviction that I had the opportunity to witness something wonderful.
The last week has been a firm reminder to me of what a privilege it is to work alongside so many remarkable colleagues, peers and insurance professionals – and to have the opportunity to tell and share their stories. The lesson is not lost on me – insurance, much like living, is a people business. And I will always be grateful for that.
